One Hell of a Ride
by Leopardmoon
Summary: "All aboard." It has been more than five years since the day five kids boarded a train unknowingly to the Digital World, joined by a sixth. Five years in which time has deadened the adventure until it has become a dream, a game for kids. But Koji has not forgotten, refuses to forget, and when Earth is threatened, the team has to get back together. With a few additions...
1. Chapter I: Wake Up, Kid

**One Hell of a Ride**

_( Meow, Leopardmoon here, determined to actually finish something I start. So welcome to the beginning of a little idea I had and decided to just roll with…half continuation of Digimon Frontier, half original adventure with tons of OCs and taking place on Earth. I'm sure it's been written before, but not by me, and certainly not with what I have planned. As always, please enjoy the ride, and I'm more than open to your ideas, comments, and critiques. Thank you._

_**This fanfic is purely for entertainment purposes and I do not claim – whatsoever – the rights to Digimon or any other game/book/music/fiction related stuff I mention. The only things that belong to me are the plot and every original creation I make up. Without further ado, welcome back, Warriors. **__)_

"No one expects anything from a bunch of kids. Especially not when they're all about twelve years old - well, Tommy was even younger - but that's beside the point. The point is that if I ever told anyone about our adventures in the Digital World, they would just laugh and say something like, 'Dream on kid.' But it really did happen...right? I think it did. I-I hope it did. Because otherwise, maybe they're right after all, and I need to grow up. Move on. This is the real world and I'm just a kid with an overactive imagination. It wasn't…real."

**Chapter I: Wake Up, Kid**

It's always the days that start out like any other; you know the ordinary ones that you blast through impatiently in the hope of moving on to more exciting things. The ones where the clock ticks by so slowly that you're not sure whether you'd prefer knives or the electric chair. Those are the days that get you in the end.

Monday mornings were the worst though, hands down, with the promise of the weekend still hanging over your head. Instead, only the long, torturous week of school paved the pathway forward.

It was on such a morning that the sun graciously greeted the still sleeping inhabitant of a neatly kept room. Books lined impeccably dusted shelves and clothes remained neatly folded in drawers. Peculiar, considering this was the room of a teenage boy.

The aforementioned teenager shifted uncomfortably as his body sensed the change in lighting and decided it didn't like it one bit. _'Damn, is it really morning already?'_ Groaning loudly, the boy snuggled deeper into his pillow in a vain attempt to avoid the light seeping through the gaps in his blinds. Maybe if he ignored the light it would go away because even one more minute of sleep would be pure bliss. Unfortunately, it was not his lucky day.

**"Beep beep, beep, beep beep, beep, BEEP BEE-"** The bed appeared to explode outwards as eyes the color of the ocean on a stormy night emerged from a mass of lime green pillows and blankets, raining pillows down everywhere. Brushing away disheveled raven hair, the boy extended an arm over to his bedside table and slammed the SNOOZE button of his alarm down with deep satisfaction. He then quickly retracted back into the confines of his blankets, burrowing like a particularly wrathful mole, until he was once again swallowed up by lime green everything. He was going to sleep for at least five more minutes and nobody was going to stop him, sun be damned.

He could only feel his annoyance rise as the door creaked open unceremoniously, followed quickly by a dip in his double bed as someone climbed up onto it. Well, scratch that, as it could only be one person…his brother.

**"Koji?"** the voice inquired inquisitively to the large bump underneath the covers. **"Koji, it's time to wake up."** _No duh._ He would have snorted derisively to his twin if he hadn't been deliberately ignoring him. **"Koji,"** Koichi continued as he began to poke the bump with his right pointer finger. **"Koji…Koji…Ko-"**

The few pillows that had survived the initial emergence unscathed joined their fallen brothers and sisters on the floor as Koji pinned his elder brother underneath him. **"Koichi,"** he began in a voice that would make most people shiver, **"what did I say about waking me up in the morning? I. Am. Not. A. Morning. Person."** He stared into those matching dark blue eyes fiercely as they twinkled back at him mischievously. **"Yeah, yeah, I know, but if I didn't wake you up I swear you'd wait until there's only ten minutes left before school. Can't have that, now can we?"**

Koji grudgingly let his twin up as he once again brushed his long hair out of his eyes. Well, looked like he could forget his dream of getting any extra sleep. _God damn._ Lost in his thoughts, he didn't notice Koichi hadn't moved from his bed until he gave the sheets a decisive tug and found they didn't move. **"Hey, early bird, get off. I'm trying to make my bed here, and you're in the way."** Still smiling, his twin obliged, but refused to leave the room. Whatever, wasn't Koji's problem.

**"You know, I can't help but think how strange it is that the guy who got the Spirit of Light shies away from it first thing in the morning."** Koji tensed instinctively at this small mention of the Digital World. He warily sneaked a peek at his twin's face to see what exactly he was thinking to bring that particular subject up but found it unchanged.

It had been a decision on both of their parts to never bring up their time in the Digital World unless they were alone. Mom (Stepmom) and Dad were probably in the other room, but he doubted they could hear any part of this conversation, so the conditions were met. But they had had plenty of opportunities in which they were alone together and never was anything Legendary Warrior related brought up. So why the sudden change?

**"Did you…hear something?"** It was difficult to keep the creeping note of hope that blossomed in his heart out of his voice. The promise of the DigiDestined remaining friends forever, no matter the distance between them and the trials they faced, lay at the forefront of his mind.

A little more than five years had passed by since their return to the Human World. The return to reality had been filled with joy and promise, and the Digital World had been thought of only in passing. But as the first month slid by, Koji had found himself wondering how Bokomon and Neemon were getting along. Was everything alright back there? Would he ever see the Digital World again?

One month became two months, then a year, and finally years. The DigiDestined had naturally begun to drift apart as they grew older and their lives took them in different directions. But they had together saved a world, so there was no need to worry. It wasn't like any of them could ever forget what had happened…right?

(Flashback)

**"Still as hotheaded as ever, I see."** He remembered the familiar cocky grin spreading itself across Takuya's face before he gently let down the little white dog in his arms. The tiny creature yipped its thanks, wagging its tail excitedly, before running far away from the road. Takuya had then shrugged like it was nothing before good-naturedly slapping Koji on the back. **"You could say that, but it was the right thing to do."** Idiot had charged across the street of a busy intersection to save the dog when it otherwise would have been run over by a car.

Yup, same old Takuya. **"So, don't suppose you've gotten any mysterious phone calls lately?"** Koji had tried to be casual about it, calm, cool…nonchalant. Like the Digital World wasn't plaguing his mind constantly. He was surprised when the other boy had snickered, scratching his cheek as he considered how to word what he wanted to say. **"Listen, Koji…don't you think we're a little old to pretend all that was real? I mean, it was fun while it lasted, but obviously it was just a kid's game."**

Wait…_what_? Koji frowned as he rounded on his best friend and seriously studied the other's brown eyes. He found the chocolate depths to be lacking the answers he desired. **"Anyway, I gotta go. My girlfriend is probably about ready to call the police with how long I've taken. Heh, see ya!"** Before he could have said a word, Takuya had taken off.

Koji couldn't have hoped to explain the number of emotions that had surfaced from within him at that moment, but he couldn't deny that he had felt like a dagger had been stabbed right into his heart. Yeah, it had been four years, but for Takuya to just outright dismiss it as a kid's game like that? No…it was like he didn't even know the guy who was supposed to be his best friend.

(End Flashback)

Koichi's voice startled him out his reverie as his twin finally formulated a response.** "No, I haven't."** He looked thoughtful as he eyed his younger brother. Koichi knew full well that Koji, despite being the one who had initially refused to be part of a team, was the one who really wanted to keep them together the most. The one who couldn't just dismiss it all as some fantastical dream that they had all shared, or a game that they had all played as children. Yes, Koichi _knew_ that there was more to it than a dream, or a game, but even he had to question whether the Digital World was fiction or reality. It was just…too unbelievable. But for Koji he would never forget.

**"Oh."** The one word hung in the air between them as both boys fell into silence. At last, Koichi decided to suck it up and break the silence. Smiling wryly, **"You should really trim that mane of yours, Mr. Every-girl-in-the-school-wants-to-date-me. Ice Prince. King of Hot Guys. Uh, whatever other ridiculous names they come up for you."**

**"Hmph, says Mr. Student Council Vice President and the best kendoka in Japan who is only eighteen years old,"** Koji retorted as he poked his twin in retaliation. And that was that.

(Scene Skip)

**"-and I'll make you whatever you want every day for the rest of our lives, three meals a day, plus snacks, and wash your clothes, and massage your shoulders when you get sore, and-"** Koji was really trying his best not to fall asleep as the girl opposite him droned on and on about what exactly she would do for him if only he would ask her out on a date. The thing was, he wasn't interested, and it certainly wasn't anything he hadn't heard before.

**"-so, you see, that's why you should make me your girlfriend! Um, please, Koji-kun? I just, I-I love you. Oh my gosh, I love you Koji-kun!"** Ugh, finally she was done. He was about ready to just interrupt her and tell her straight up,_ 'No'_ and be done with it, but Koichi complained that that was too harsh and he needed to at least let the girl express her feelings before he declined. Something about how everyone deserved a chance, blah blah blah.

He stared straight into the girl's near black irises, brimming with hope, and crushed that little spark of light within with the same disinterest he did every other girl who came after him. **"Sorry, but no."** Without another word, he turned around quickly before she started the waterworks, or screamed how much she hated him and what an arrogant jerk he was, or even continued to proclaim her undying love for him regardless of his own feelings. He just really couldn't take it.

Koji had never had a girlfriend before. It was something he held with both the greatest pride, and a secret agony. While he couldn't actually get every girl in the school to like him, it was true that about 97% would date him without question regardless if they wanted him because they actually believed they loved him or simply because it would award them popularity points. That made it rather difficult for a guy like him who wanted someone who was less…_easy._ Who wouldn't chase him, but would make him chase after her.

But it was such a thin line between interest and disinterest. Romance was perhaps the only thing that Koji felt unsure of outside of the questioning of his sanity for continuing to believe in the Digital World when all of his friends had already moved on. But this was life: one big messed up rollercoaster ride.

_'Oh hell, what am I doing now?'_ Koji thought as he scowled, blinking rapidly until his eyelashes were fluttering faster than a hummingbird's wings in the hope of finding that he was actually walking home from school like he should have been doing. But nope, he was in the school's small private garden. Alone.

Koichi had kendo practice and so Koji had only himself to entertain. But that was okay, really, because he was the lone wolf after all. He wasn't supposed to need anyone except for himself.

The sunlight shone brightly upon his lightly tanned face as he tilted it up towards the sky, enjoying the feel of the Sun on his skin. His fingers were already undoing the first few buttons of his summer uniform as he crossed the garden in order to sit on the lone wooden bench. He knew he shouldn't be here, but whatever. This little garden was his favorite place after all during the warmer months for both its seclusion and its beauty – he couldn't deny that.

Koji also couldn't help the smile that stretched across his face as he admired a blooming yellow tulip near his seat, the fingers of his left hand caressing the petals without thinking. _Now if only he had some company…_

**"Wow, never thought I'd see the school's Ice Prince smile like that."** _Damnit._ Speak of the devil, and you shall be heard. Koji sharply withdrew his hand as his head snapped up to glare at the intruder. _'Who the hell is this?'_ he thought crossly.

The intruder appeared to be a girl about his age and he would have assumed her to be a student of the school if not for her clearly foreign blood and the fact she wasn't wearing a uniform. She was clad in only a pair of light blue denim shorts and a black tank top patterned like the night sky. Glittering gray wedge sneakers adorned her feet which matched the gray headband that pushed back her long dark brown hair, allowing her light brown eyes to catch the light.

Unperturbed by his cold demeanor, she motioned behind her. From out of the shadows came another girl, but this was one had fiery red hair and eyes of smoky jade green. She was similarly clad in a white tank top and dark blue denim shorts, but wore red Converse, and her hair was tied back in a ponytail much like his own. She stood shyly to the side of the first girl, looking nervous under his gaze.

**"What do you want?"** He wasn't in the mood for games.

The first girl smirked, shrugging as if she hadn't noticed the venom laced throughout his words. **"The question isn't so much what I want as it is what do you want?"** Cryptic. Great.

His eyes continued to follow her as she leisurely began to stroll about the small garden despite there not being much to see. She finally seated herself on the opposite end of the bench which put the other girl in quite the dilemma as she wanted to remain next to the first, but not so close to Koji.

Rolling his eyes, he decided at last that maybe this was the universe telling him it was time to head home like he should have long ago. He didn't want to deal with two strange foreign girls, no matter how curious he was as to their purpose there.

**"Bye,"** he called over his shoulder dismissively, but just as his hand touched the door leading back inside the school, he felt someone pull him back. Not expecting it, Koji stumbled, before straightening and meeting the brunette's eyes. **"What the hell!"** he spat, hands curling into fists. **"What's your freaking problem?"** He really didn't want to hit a girl, but if she tried something on him, he would.

Her sunny, wordless smile almost put him over the edge. It was unnerving for some girl to get him so fired up. He didn't like it at all.

**"My freaking _problem_, as you so eloquently worded it, is that a bunch of _bad_ Digimon led by Chronomon in _freaking_ Destroyer Mode are leaking into our world and want to rule it, making all of us humans into _slaves_ in the process. That, _my dear_ Koji Minamoto, is my freaking problem. Oh, and I'd like you and your brother to help save the Earth since apparently you have _some_ experience with world saving. Is that cool with you, or should I go find some other DigiDestined?"**

He felt dazed. Was this for real or…? He couldn't believe it.

_Wake up, kid. The Trailmon don't exactly wait around. This is going to be one hell of a ride._


	2. Chapter II: Is This Real Life?

**One Hell of a Ride**

_( Meow, Leopardmoon here, still determined to actually finish something I start. Sorry for the delay! I'll see if I can't make it up to you guys later, but no promises, okay? I'd also like to thank Seithr-Kairy and fanakatsuki for favoriting! I don't even think that's a word...but you get the point. And as to your review, fanakatsuki, well, you'll just have to wait and see won't you? And, haha, creepy! Oh, she'd just love to hear you say that. *sarcasm* I'll see what I can do Adventure DigiDestined-wise. Mwhaaha._

_As always, please enjoy the ride, and I'm more than open to your ideas, comments, and critiques. Also, **don't own, except for my original creations! **Thank you. )_

"Friends are the people you can count on to always have your back, no matter what. They're the best thing a guy could ever ask for - and not just to hook you up with a pretty girl, or give you presents on your birthday when you've forgotten about it yourself. A true friend is like family, but without the blood connection. The only thing holding you together is mutual trust and…affection. Yeah, that's sappier than The Notebook, but there's not really a manly way to put it, okay? Just choose your friends wisely and you're set for life."

**Chapter II: Is This Real Life?**

If you've ever had to ask yourself the question, 'Is this real life?' so far it's either been the worst day of your life, or the best one. Koji was pretty sure that the jury was still out on that one.

The raven-haired teen shifted in his seat restlessly, trying his best to tune out the small talk circling around the table; it wasn't small talk he was interested in after all. He'd much rather hear more about how exactly the entire Earth was in jeopardy of being the playground of evil Digimon, but all anyone else seemed to want to talk about was tea and sandwiches. Freaking _tea_ and _sandwiches_! At least, he wasn't the only one looking vaguely uncomfortable…

The brunette eyed her teacup with disinterest, pushing the small silver spoon around with her right pointer finger. He followed the movement with his dark blue eyes only because it was better than staring out the window and at an excellent view of a dark alleyway like that out of a movie. Yes, staring at the girl with brown hair and brown eyes, so plain in coloration, had to be infinitely times better than peering out at dumpsters and trash cans. It didn't help that she was seated directly in front of him, with her friend to her right, and his twin to his left. Two empty seats waiting for bodies to fill them completed the arrangement.

Koji would have preferred having the redhead seated across from him, but the green-eyed girl still refused to meet his eyes head-on. He didn't get what her problem was, not when she talked so animatedly with Koichi. It wasn't like he put off this cold aura that – _oh._ Okay, maybe he should try to be more pleasant, or whatever the hell it was his parents tried to instill in him.

The clinking sound of fine china drew his attention back to the brunette who was tapping her teacup against its matching saucer. **"Could you stop that?"** The words were out of his mouth before he could think about it. Her light brown eyes raised to stare at him icily. Jeez, was this how most people felt when he looked at them? **"I could...but I won't."** He grit his teeth, feeling heat seep through his body, and resisted stalking away from the table right then and there. She was such a cheeky, annoying, hissy…_bitch._ It brought him back to earlier, her sarcastic first words, and the way she had shrugged off his own as if they were nothing.

(Flashback)

After his initial shock had worn off – and he had stopped his totally embarrassing imitation of a goldfish – the brunette had impatiently dragged him along to the gymnasium. He'd told himself that he didn't want to hurt the girl's feelings by shoving her off again, but truth be told, she had such a vice-like grip on his wrist that it had gone numb.

When she had finally let go, he'd immediately begun to rub at it in an attempt to revive all feeling in his wrist. He hadn't missed the roll of her eyes, nor her whole hands-on-the-hips posture saying, 'Don't be such a _baby.'_ Koji simply glowered in reply while continuing to nurse his sore wrist. Jeez, maybe Koichi was right, and he needed to start taking Karate or something again if a girl could so easily get the drop on him. Never mind that this girl was clearly not _human_, because girls were supposed to be sweet and pleasant, and admiring of his good looks. That wasn't being arrogant, that was just saying what's what, really.

The girl was busy whispering something to her red-haired companion, who nodded once, before heading over in the direction of a pair of practicing kendoka. They were just one of many pairs in the large gym and Koji couldn't help but be impressed: he had something of a twin sense with his brother, and could easily tell that the slightly shorter one of the pair was Koichi, but how could she? He was even more curious as to how the shy foreign girl was about to convince the instructor to let Koichi go early.

With her bright red hair, the other girl was more than noticeable, and all it took were a few words for Koichi to drop everything and follow after her. But that was the easy part; she couldn't exactly say that she needed Koichi to save the world to an adult, now could she? The lead instructor, and a history teacher at the school, was Sukejuro Oba. He was an imposing older man of five feet and five inches: below the average, but his stern face and manner more than made up for it. Plus he had the form of a bodybuilder. A short bodybuilder…

The petite girl in comparison looked like a fragile baby bird, easily broken in the instructor's capable hands, or at the end of his shinai. The seconds ticked by into minutes, but before five minutes had passed, Koichi and the girl were headed back their way. No way..._how_? **"That's my girl,"** the brunette noted cheerfully before heading back outside. He could only follow along, a bunch of unanswered questions left floating through his mind.

(End Flashback)

The four of them had found a small café on the east side of town to wait out the arrival of two more of their number, not far from the school. Both Koichi and Koji alike had attempted to fish out answers from their two mysterious escorts, but neither had deigned to spill until their fellow had arrived with another DigiDestined in tow.

**"You could at least tell me your name, ya know. It's kind of rude that you know mine, but I don't know yours."** The brunette appeared to actually consider this as she set down her teacup gently, appraising him like he was some kind of cattle she was considering adding to her herd. **"I suppose that's fair."** She fiddled with her headband for a second, then smoothed out the floral patterned napkin on her lap while waiting for Koichi and her friend to finish up whatever they were talking about now – their favorite flavor of ice cream?! _Seriously...sigh._

**"But don't you think that pistachio looks so-"** She coughed loudly, interrupting her friend, who didn't appear to be annoyed in the least to find herself cut off all of a sudden. **"What's up?"**

**"I suppose telling them our names won't ruin anything, so go ahead."** The girl's green eyes lit up like fireworks on the fourth of July as she got the go-ahead. **"Oh good, because I accidentally almost told Koichi like fifty different times already."** The brunette inhaled deeply at her friend's admission, her eyes automatically finding Koji's as if to tell him, 'Can you _believe_ that? You see what I have to deal with everyday?' For one brief moment, he could feel his lips curl upwards in return. 'Yeah, I can believe that...I've got the same problem with _this idiot_ over here.' But then the moment passed as both remembered they didn't actually know each other very well, and so far didn't like each other's attitude at all. He quickly averted his eyes in order to focus on the girl with red hair instead as the brunette did likewise.

**"My name is Morgan Ross, and I'm from beautiful North Carolina! Oh, that's in America, since you probably don't know your states and all…anyway, I became a DigiDestined about three years ago, and my Spirit is D'Arcmon. My favorite color is yellow, I'm a pretty good volleyball player, um, I have three wonderful dogs including this-"**

**"Morgan,"** the brunette interrupted again, though in a soft tone that Koji was sure he would never hear used on him. **"I think that's enough for now."** Morgan reddened a little at that, and it wasn't hard to notice that Koichi had this big cheesy smile on his face. _No way_, his twin didn't think the American girl was _cute,_ did he? _By god_, he totally did. Maybe he had a thing for foreigners: Japanese women didn't have red hair, green eyes, and freckles unless it involved hair dye, circle lenses, and makeup. Koji didn't see much of the appeal himself except that exotic was kind of in.

**"It's nice to meet you again, Miss Morgan,"** Koichi spoke up, still grinning like an idiot. Despite the guy's many accomplishments, he couldn't do _cool_. Not unless he was intently focused on organizing the school festival, or dodging a hit to his shoulder in a match, and yup, you get the point. **"Yeah, I think it's nice to meet you too."** Morgan managed a small nod to Koji in turn, but quickly turned her attention back to her friend, then Koichi, and finally her teacup – or really just anywhere but him. That was one way to hurt a guy's feelings, because she obviously wasn't avoiding him based on some kind of secret crush…or _was she_?

Before he could entertain that particular idea more, and its implications, the evil _witch_ of a brunette began her introduction.

**"Hey, I'm Lea Wu, also from America...California if you want to get specific. I've been a DigiDestined for...six years? Seven maybe? More than you, heh. What else…"** The brune-err, Lea, suddenly turned on her friend. **"Morgan! You already told them about your Spirit!"** The other girl sheepishly stared down at her lap, unwilling to meet her friend's eyes for once. **"Sorry, Lea. I kind of…_forgot_?"** Lea could only take deep breaths again in an attempt to stay calm. Meanwhile, Koji and Koichi exchanged looks. By _Spirit_, did they mean…?

**"Whatever: my Spirit is Witchmon. I'm the dark to Morgan's light, much like you, Koichi, to Koji and vice versa."**

Koji was seriously kidding about the whole witch thing; _well_, sort of. It was difficult not to make some snide comment on how her Digimon form accurately matched her personality, however.

**"No way…Koji, look over there!"** The younger twin brushed off his brother's hands where they had earnestly gripped his black jacket, tugging him closer to Koichi and away from his comfortable position leaning on his elbows. **"What?"** he snapped out as he straightened, turning around to look behind him only to see nothing of interest. His brother simply shook his head when he saw that Koji was looking in the wrong direction, sending his shaggy black hair into his eyes. **"No, not over there, over _there_!"** This time he pointed.

Koji was ready to spit fire again until he found the words caught in his throat as his eyes settled on the one person that got under his skin more than the girl with brown hair ever could: _Takuya._ His former best friend. The guy he had proudly called leader, while arguing with him all the same, and gotten into all sorts of trouble with during their adventures in the Digital World. The same guy who had decided it was all a game they had played as children. There were just too many emotions, too many thoughts, too much..._stuff,_ that was flooding through his veins. _Way too much._

Koji swallowed, hard, struggling to compose himself as Takuya was led by a blonde guy over to their table. **"Hey guys,"** the stranger said with a small wave of his hand, seating himself next to Morgan comfortably. **"Sorry for the wait – took a bit more convincing than I thought."**

Takuya was strangely quiet as he took the seat next to Koichi, which was not like his usual self at all. Koji found himself staring at his ex-best friend unconsciously with something like a mother hen feeling developing in his chest.

Besides the sudden bout of silence, Takuya looked to be doing well. He might have gone through another growth spurt judging by his height, or that could just be the spikiness of his brown hair peeking out from under a red snapback that he had attached his goggles to. There were no dark circles under his eyes, no extra wrinkles, no injuries besides maybe some minor cuts or bruises, or anything like that. Koji wasn't exactly sure what he was looking for, but whatever it was, Takuya seemed just fine.

Lea broke the awkward silence at last. **"So, how 'bout another round of introductions then?"** Morgan leaped at the chance – not that anyone was surprised.

**"I'm Morgan Ross, sixteen, from the USA, and I have the Heavenly Spirit of D'Arcmon!"**

**"Koichi Kimura, seventeen, from Japan, and I have the Spirit of Darkness: Lowemon."**

**"Lea Wu…seventeen…USA…Witchmon."** Everyone stared as she yawned loudly, stretching her arms up to the ceiling in something of a cat-like manner. **"Sorry."** She didn't sound very _sorry_...oh wait, was it _his_ turn?

**"Koji Minamoto, also seventeen, from Japan, and Spirit of Light: Lobomon."** _'Don't look at Takuya, don't look at Takuya,'_ he chanted silently to himself.

**"And I'm Bradley Anderson from the UK - England specifically – eighteen years old, and water is my forte: Depthmon. Koichi, Koji, it's a pleasure to meet both of you."** This Bradley guy had to be friends with Morgan and Lea; probably knew all the details of the Digimon World War as well. He seemed friendly enough, and Koji supposed he was a handsome guy what with the celebrity styled blonde hair, bright blue eyes, and had-to-be-bleached white smile. Damn British dudes. Okay, he was stereotyping from all the movies he saw, but they always seemed to _get the girls._

**"I'm…Takuya Kanbara. Seventeen, Japanese, and my…I mean my, uh..."** The goggle wearing brunette noticeably struggled to form the words referring to his Spirit. Bradley hesitantly began to rise from his chair, but was stopped by Koichi who rested a hand on Takuya's shoulder. Koji couldn't help but feel that he should have been the one who was calming Takuya down, but he wasn't the one sitting next to the guy.

**"Sorry, it's just…I gave up waiting around for the Digital World. I had to forget, move on, or I don't think I would have been able to go on like everything was _normal_, ya know?"** Takuya's admission sent shivers down Koji's spine because he knew _exactly_ what he meant. The waiting game was – had been - painful. Sometimes he had almost lost hope, had decided to follow after his friends, but then some part of him had said _no_. Don't ever lose hope.

Takuya's dark chocolate brown eyes steadily matched his dark blue ones. **"Koji, I'm especially sorry to you. I guess I kind of just left you hanging, huh? And you kept at it while I lost faith…_tch_, some leader I am. I just hope we can still be friends."** The little bubble of hope that had sat in his heart for years now burst, flooding his entire system with relief.

**"Takuya, you _idiot_!"** If not for Koichi being in his way, he might have done something embarrassing like hug the damn guy. **"I don't want to be friends with you,"** he didn't miss the light start to flicker out of the idiot's eyes,** "I want to be _best_ friends. Like the good old days."**

A broad grin stretched across Takuya's face as he struggled to hold back tears. _'What a sap.'_ No, it wasn't like Koji's own eyes were watering, that was...he just got some salt in his eyes, okay? And what big matching grin?

**"Okay, so this is real touching and all, but now that everyone is here…we can answer all those questions you were bugging us about earlier."** Lea had a way of shoving into other people's business; and boy, was she proud of it.

**"Seriously, I'm getting all these romantic novel reunion feels. It makes my skin crawl."**

**"Lea, don't be like that,"** Morgan anxiously told her friend as Bradley simply snickered, not bothering to disguise his amusement at all. Great to know that their happiness was something to be laughed at.

**"Okay, but one question…what about Tommy, Zoe, and J.P.? Aren't we waiting for them?"** Takuya was the one to voice this question, a question that Koji honestly hadn't considered. Wasn't he a _great_ friend_._

**"I can answer that,"** Bradley spoke up. **"Zoe's in Italy, so she's a no go for this meeting. Junpei - or J.P. - is also out of Japan, studying abroad in America. And Tommy, believe it or not, has been an active DigiDestined for the past five months. He doesn't need to be caught up on any of this."**

Well, that was news to him. Way to go Tommy!

...he was so not jealous.

_( Please Koji, you crack me up. Even though I'm writing as you, haha. You're so jealous I can't even - *laughing my head off* Love you all. )_


End file.
